The TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

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October 24, 2011

The prolific Powyses

As a postscript to my piece on the eccentric novelist T. F. Powys, I suppose I'd better acknowledge that this Powys, the one whose work I admire the most, isn't the only one among his many brothers and sisters, who grew up in the late nineteenth century but didn't come to any great literary prominence until the 1920s. Aficionados sometimes liken them to the Brontës, but that suggests only three or four writers in a single generation, whereas "TFP" had ten siblings in total, and most of them scribbled at one time or another:

There was John Cowper Powys (long-lived and prolific), Llewelyn Powys (whose African essays were republished last year), Philippa Powys (who struggled to achieve much in her day but has been more recently rediscovered), Littleton Powys (sometime headmaster of Sherborne School, whose memoir The Joy of It has to be mentioned if only as an excuse to mention the fine title of its sequel: Still the Joy of It . . .), Marian Powys (who wrote an authoritative book on lace-making), and A. R. Powys (who wrote on church architecture).

Of the others in this large family, one died young ("a delicate, talented girl, full of poetic fancies", according to Morine Krissdóttir's biography of "JCP"); two of the others painted. I am hopeful that the eleventh remaining Powys, Lucy, didn't do anything at all. But this is not to mention the extended family and the wide circle of friends and acquaintances . . . .

Comments

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I enjoyed your review in this week's TLS, which gave an excellent overview of T.F. Powys for the uninitiated such as myself, as well as generously making more allowances for Powys's satirical bent than, alas, Gerald Bullett felt inclined to.

I would, however, like to know about the publishing quality of this imprint, Faber Finds, which I believe is 'Publish On Demand'. Am I right in supposing the books are served up in a raw state, sans introductory preface and picturesque covers?

Thank you very much, Neil, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the review. As far as I know, Powys's original publisher, Chatto & Windus, took great care over the look of their books; Faber Finds look a little more functional... and no, they don't run to extra material (prefaces, etc). But they're handy to have around, as second-hand copies in (very) good condition can be quite expensive.

Looking at the Faber edition of John Cowper Powys's "Autobiography", by the way, I see a few typos ("peoole" for "people", "interet" for "interest") - admittedly, very few, in the course of a long book - but perhaps that's an aspect of the way the text has been reproduced by Faber rather than a faithful representation of the original publication...

The Faber Finds imprint, which I edit, does indeed have a generic cover design, as befits this list of 1000+ titles and growing. Recently revamped, the design has what we like to think is a pleasing affinity with classic Faber cover styles of the past. I add new preface material to the books wherever possible, i.e. where the author is living or else the right critical writer can be found, as with our recent reissues of the novels of Emma Tennant and David James Smith's 'The Sleep of Reason.'